Terroir

Jaime Goode has a useful post on Terroir. This really is one of the more interesting topics in wine. Trying to determine how environmental factors will affect the character of the grape, and of the wine itself is an important part of the planning process in winemaking.

Review: 2007 Fabbioli Cellars Chambourcin

Wine: 2007 Fabbioli Cellars Chambourcin



Review:This is a light red wine, the kind of wine that is great to drink by itself. The wine had a very fruit forward aroma with strong berry scents. Very slight tannins and a nice finish. A very simple, delicious summer wine.

Price: $16

Grade: 90

Wine and Cheese Pairing

Kevin Zraly has a good post on wine and cheese pairings with some really good specific pairings.

Bordeaux Wine Resources

I am going to Bordeaux the first week in September. I've decided to eschew the group tours in favor of making my own arrangements. This should give me more time to spend at each Chateau, enabling me to talk to the winemakers and hopefully getting a tour of each one I visit.

I've been looking around for Bordeaux travel resources and found a few that have been really helpful. I have really enjoyed the guides at Wine Travel Guides, the information at New Bordeaux has also been invaluable. Finally, I found a really good Bordeaux travel guide called CitySpots Bordeaux.

So, what do all of these things have in common? Jane Anson either wrote or contributed to them. That means Jane Anson is my favorite Bordeaux wine writer :).

Review: 2001 Breaux Nebbiolo

Wine: 2001 Breaux Nebbiolo



Review:I had a chance to try this wine at the Breaux Nebbiolo Vertical back in April (post on that coming soon). Nebbiolo is an Italian varietal grown primarily in the Piedmont region. Generally, these wines are highly tannic and need time to age. As they age they develop a more floral or herbaceous bouquet.

So, how does the Breaux Nebbiolo stack up against the Nebbiolos of the Piedmont region? Very well. The 2001, which is their oldest vintage, has aged nicely. The tannins have smoothed out well, but are still there. It has developed an aroma of fruit and mild tobacco hints. The wine itself is complex and it remains on the palette for a long time. A very enjoyable experience, and a great wine.

Price: $80

Grade: 100

Review: 2005 Chateau La Tour De Mons

Wine: 2005 Chateau La Tour De Mons Bordeaux



Review:This is another good quality value-priced Bordeaux. Of course, it helps that this was a 2005 vintage, which really has lived up to all the hype surrounding it. I have yet to try a 2005 that I haven't liked.

I decanted this wine for about 1/2 an hour, which smoothed it out quite a bit. The wine had a medium oak feel with aromas of black fruit and dark chocolate. The tannins have already started to smooth, but the wine definitely lingers on the palette.

Price: $25

Grade: 90

Thunevin Blog

Jean-Luc Thunevin, original winemaker at Marojallia Margaux has his own blog. Its worth a read :).

DCs Wine Country Food and Wine Festival

I haven't mentioned this yet, but if you are looking for something to do either tonite or tomorrow night, you might want to check out the first ever DC's Wine Country Food and Wine Festival, a festival dedicated strictly to Loudoun County wineries and restaurants.

Tickets are only $30 at the door, and it looks to be a lot of fun!

Fearless Critic

No, not me. It is easy to be fearless when no one cares what you think :). I am talking about Fearless Critic. They were nice enough to send me a copy of their Washington Area Restaurant Guide, so I thought I would share my thoughts with you (plus, I kind of promised them I would ;)).

First some of the unequivocally good things about the book: The writing is tight and interesting -- definitely not traditional stuffy reviews. Robin Goldstein, the Editor in Chief, does a great job of taking the different writing styles and smoothing them out so the book reads evenly. I also really like the fact that they rate the food and the atmosphere separately.

The lists of the beginning of the book are also nice, in fact it would be great if they included them as a separate "pocket guide." Some of the more useful lists include which restaurants are open late during the week and on the weekends, which ones are date friendly and kid friendly, and, of course, their top 100.

But how are the reviews? The easiest way to test this is to check the reviews on some of the restaurants I like and see how they stack up. As most of you know, my favorite place in DC is Bistrot Lepic, so I looked that up first. No review.

Next I checked out the review for Chef Geoff. CK rated Chef Geoff's downtown location a 6.1 (on a scale of 10) writing, "It's not entirely unfair to call Chef Geoff's an upscale bar -- with decent bar food -- masquerading as a restaurant." Obviously, I disagree :).

On the other hand, WS says this about Dino, "..is that vital ace up the sleeve when you’re in need of a good, no-frills meal that consistently hits the mark." A spot on review!

FC says about Oya, "Oya is cool—perhaps too cool. White marble, white leather chairs, frosted white glasses, a waterfall blurring the view into the kitchen, and a red leather bar..." which is right on, but FC goes on to say, "The most disappointing part about Oya is the laughably slow, inattentive service..." I've never had that problem at Oya.

One more: Vinoteca, a wine bar on U Street is rated a 7.3/8.8 by JC who writes, "Even so, Vinoteca is always a party." This is true as is, "...Vinoteca is better suited for small bites and many libations then it is for a big meal." I couldn't agree more.

Overall, I think the book is absolutely worth the $16 (or $11 if you order it from Amazon through their website).

But, for the next edition, I hope they add in Bistrot Lepic!

The RAVI Wine Chiller

I have been looking at the RAVI Wine Chiller and I can't tell if it is a potentially useful tool, or something that would be a waste of money. I agree that too many people serve red wine at the wrong temperature, but I am not sure how this would help correct that.

According the the website, you place this in the fridge, then pull it out when you want to server your wine. But, it doesn't state how it regulates the temperature to keep the wine at 60 degrees (F). More importantly, if it takes you an hour to go through the bottle does the RAVI stay cold enough to regulate the temperature the whole time?

The RAVI also assumes that you pour the wine directly from the bottle and don't decant first. Obviously, there is not a way to get this to work if you are pouring from a decanter.

This was recommended in this month's Wine Enthusiast, but I can't tell if it is really worthwhile. Any thoughts?